Table 1
Interviewee Demographics.
| PSEUDONYM | DISABILITY IDENTITY | REGISTERED WITH DISABILITY SERVICES | USES ACCOMMODATIONS | MAJOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron | No | Yes | Yes | Mechanical Engineering |
| Amalie | No | Yes | Yes | Biomedical Engineering |
| Brooke | Yes | Yes | Yes | Industrial and Operations Engineering |
| Cassidy | Yes | No | Yes | Mechanical Engineering |
| Eva | Yes | Yes | Yes | Electrical Engineering |
| Jonathan | No | No | Yes | Biomedical Engineering |
| Nadia | Yes | No | Yes | Industrial and Operations Engineering |
| Rosa | Unsure | Yes | Yes | Environmental Engineering |
| Taylor | Yes | No | No | Aerospace Engineering |
| Vanessa | Yes | No | Yes | Electrical Engineering |
| Xavier | No | No | No | Mechanical Engineering |
[i] Note. Reprinted from “Engineering students’ attitudes and perceived norms toward disability and accommodations,” by I. Miller and K. Jensen, 2025. Journal of Engineering Education, 114(4), e70028. © 2025 I. Miller and K. Jensen. Journal of Engineering Education published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of the American Society for Engineering Education.
Table 2
Codes, definitions, use cases, and code types.
| CODE | DEFINITION | USE CASE | CODE TYPE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positive Experiences | An experience that is overall positive (i.e., not exacerbating stress/fear/anxiety) for the student. May have been initially stressful, but the student received support/help and stress or other negative emotions lessened. | When to use: Use when a participant describes a positive experience where they felt supported in the process of asking for or using accommodations. When not to use: Do not use when a participant is describing a negative experience, or if a participant does not explicitly state they felt supported or use positive language (i.e., if they refer to an experience using neutral language that could be inferred either way). | A priori |
| Emotional Support | Providing support by listening, caring, affirming, etc. | When to use: Listening without judgment, acknowledging and validating someone’s emotions, providing words of comfort and reassurance, and validating (e.g., legitimizing, recognizing) disability experience. When not to use: Invalidating students’ experiences or feelings. | Emergent |
| Instrumental Support | Providing tangible support that could be through financial means, material means, or direct assistance. | When to use: Instructor provided accommodations (like extended test time or flexible deadlines), instructor advocated for student needs. When not to use: Accommodations were not provided effectively or refused. | Emergent |
| Instructional Support | Providing information or advice that is true and helpful. | When to use: Instructor provides information (e.g., suggestions, advice, procedures, etc.) that helps a student navigate the accommodations process. When not to use: Instructor provides information that is not correct or unhelpful, or fails to provide any information. | Emergent |
| Esteem Support | Providing support that helps build confidence and sense of belonging | When to use: Instructor is affirming student experiences, challenging a student’s negative perceptions of disability or accommodation use, or normalizing accommodations. When not to use: Instructor is discouraging students from engineering or using stigmatizing language. | Emergent |
| Negative Experiences | The student experienced stress, fear, anxiety, or other negative emotions in the process of asking for or using accommodations, and/or did not receive the support/help they needed. | When to use: Use when a participant mentions feeling negative emotions (e.g., stress, fear, anxiety, etc.) or invalidations when describing their experiences regarding accommodations. When not to use: Do not use if describing an incident/experience that occurred before college or does not relate to accommodations in the classroom (such as in the library). | A priori |
| Invalidation | (opposite of Emotional Support) Not feeling heard or listened to; not feeling cared for; feeling dismissed of feelings or experiences (includes not acknowledging, denial, and mitigating seriousness), etc. | When to use: Instructor questioning seriousness of disability or need for accommodations (e.g., not understanding accommodation), instructor not listening to students describe their needs or experiences. When not to use: Instructor is providing emotional support. | Emergent |
| Disengagement/ Obstruction | (opposite of Instrumental Support) The withholding of tangible support, either deliberately (obstruction) or unintentionally (disengagement). | When to use: Instructor refusing to provide accommodations, ignoring student communication, or pushing responsibility onto another party so they do not have to give support. When not to use: Instructor is providing instrumental support. | Emergent |
| Withholding Information | (opposite of instructional support) Not providing information (suggestions, advice, procedures, etc.) or providing false information. | When to use: The instructor does not include information on the syllabus, or the information provided is incorrect. When not to use: Instructor is providing informational support. | Emergent |
| Denigration | (opposite of Esteem Support) Discouraging belonging, positive sense of self, and confidence. | When to use: Instructor tells student they should drop the class, expresses a negative view of disabilities or accommodation use, or uses stigmatizing language. When not to use: Instructor is providing esteem support. | Emergent |